How to keep your children safe by the pool this summer – the four hidden dangers to watch out for

At least 25 British people drown in holiday pools each summer, and more than 500 serious incidents – including near-drownings – occur around swimming pools, according to new, comprehensive industry-wide statistics on the accidents that befall UK citizens on holidays abroad.

At the beginning of this year, Telegraph Travel launched a campaign to increase public awareness of the glaring need for reliable figures on how many, and what sort of, accidents happen to children each year while on holiday. Prior to this, there was no government or independent database providing those numbers.

Since the Telegraph raised this issue in January, many leading holiday companies have agreed to share their accident statistics, and the Safer Tourism Foundation (STF) – a charity dedicated to the prevention of holiday accidents – has been able to produce the first industry-wide analysis of the types of incidents befalling families abroad. Based on inspection of newly shared data from nine million holidays, plus incidents reported by the Foreign Office (FCO) and numbers provided by the Royal Life Saving Society UK, the charity has concluded that 75 per cent of pool incidents are attributable to a lack of supervision. The remaining quarter of serious incidents are caused by diving into shallow water (20 per cent) and getting stuck in filters (five per cent).

The STF analysis also revealed that, of the 30 children who drowned in holiday pools abroad in the past decade, more than half were under the age of four. It also identifies the most common dangers, as follows:

Lack of supervision

The vast majority of deaths and serious incidents concerning children around pools arise from what the STF categorises as “supervisory issues”. “These can range from a vigilant parent turning their back for a few seconds to behaviour some might consider irresponsible,” said Katherine Atkinson, chief executive of the STF.

Children aged two or three are most at risk; in most incidents, a toddler wandered away from parents and fell into an unsupervised pool, the charity reported. Drownings of children aged four or five occurred after their parents had last seen them playing in the water, or near the water – most commonly a hotel swimming pool. In cases where children aged six to nine drowned, those in question were swimming and got into trouble.

“Drowning children don’t cry out for help and wave to be rescued,” said Ms Atkinson. “They disappear under the surface – often unseen and unheard. Adults need to be vigilant whenever a child is in or near a pool.”

Unqualified lifeguards

While more than half of holidaymakers surveyed by the charity said they believed the presence of a lifeguard guaranteed a safe pool experience, the reality is that standards for “lifeguards” vary enormously around the world.

“Many hotel pools will not have lifeguards on duty,” Ms Atkinson said. “Of those that do, their roles are often combined with other duties; they may be employed as ‘pool attendants’ who hand out towels and make sure the site is clean.”

Pool filters

The foundation estimates that about 23 serious incidents last year, including near-drownings, were caused when hair or parts of swimming costumes were sucked into filters. And yet, fewer than a third of parents surveyed by the charity reported checking their children’s swimming costumes for anything that might be dragged into a pool’s filtration system.

An estimated 88 serious incidents were caused by diving into pools that were not deep enough. Most of these incidents involve adults and teenagers, and can be exacerbated by poor depth markings.

Need for more data

Using incident data from cooperating tour operators, and cross-checking it with FCO fatality reports, the STF estimated the total number of accidents at villas as well as resorts.

But to describe most accurately the risks faced by families when they travel this summer, the Telegraph and STF’s chief executive have called on more tour operators to provide anonymised incident data.

Twenty-three companies have now shared such data relating to more than nine million holidays every year. This includes two of the three largest operators in Britain – TUI and Thomas Cook – as well as British Airways Holidays, Audley Travel and Explore.

But the foundation said that it was  very disappointed that the second largest holiday company in Britain, Jet2, has not been willing to share its data or collaborate with the charity to date.

Ms Atkinson said: “I hope they will change their mind and work with us on what shouldn’t be seen as a competitive issue.”

A spokesperson for Jet2 declined to comment.

The next stage

The revelations from the new data mean that we are gaining a clearer understanding of the types of accidents befalling families on holiday. However, only when the rest of the industry cooperates will we be able to compile an even more robust analysis of the risks to families, and assess where work needs to be done by operators to reduce the dangers faced by travellers – and where, as in the area of supervision, families need to be more vigilant.

Ms Atkinson said: “We are asking everyone using a pool on holiday this year to take a few simple steps that could save a life. There are 45 million holiday trips made by Britons each year and while 25 drownings doesn’t sound many, that is no consolation if it happens to your family.”

How to protect your child

Review our summary panel for the key points to remember by the pool this summer.

• Check for dangling costumes and hair

• Beware of diving into shallow water

• Never take your eyes off a young child by the water, or in your villa

• Don’t assume that the presence of lifeguards guarantees safety

• Learn basic lifesaving techniques, including CPR, so you can help in an emergency

For more tips on how to prevent pool accidents on holiday, we asked one of our favourite cartoonists – Hurrah for Gin – to make a video highlighting the four hidden dangers of the swimming pool.

Please view these important safety tips and share the video on Facebook and Twitter to help keep children safe this summer.